Court rejects petition to transfer trial on Nalchik attack to some other region

Today, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria has rejected the petition lodged last week by the accusation asking to transfer the trial on the events on October 13, 2005, to some other region.

"The court decided to additionally invite those candidates for the jury from the earlier list, who have failed to appear so far and gave no reasons of the failure," lawyer Magomed Abubakarov has reported.

We remind you that now they hold the third round of recruiting jurymen. The first two rounds resulted in 13 jurymen; meanwhile, they should count at least 35. In total for today, they have 14 of them.

The next court session was appointed on December 23. The court has also extended the defendants' custody for other three months.

Meanwhile today the State Duma of the Russian Federation has passed the law in the final reading, which cancels the trial by jury for anti-state crimes. Now, the cases of those accused of terrorism, espionage, diversions, high treason and organization of mass disorders will be considered by the board of three professional judges.

Nobody knows today whether the new law will be applied to the trial in Nalchik.